BASEBALL

BASEBALL; Mets' Last Home Game Has No Happy Recap

By RAFAEL HERMOSO

Published: September 26, 2003

The Mets have provided fans with plenty to howl at this season, and they have rarely offered them much reason to hope. But if they can get Mike Piazza to play first base, maybe turning an overmatched last-place team into a contender is not such a stretch.

After the pageantry of the original Mets announcer Bob Murphy's farewell and the painful debut of the Glavine brothers in the starting lineup, the Mets unveiled Piazza as a first baseman to roaring reviews at Shea Stadium last night in a 3-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates that they hoped concluded their home schedule.

After catching for eight innings, Piazza fielded practice throws from his infielders and stared at his first baseman's glove strangely before being involved in all three plays in the top of the ninth. He snared a line drive at his head and took throws from the pitcher and the third baseman after grounders, to wild cheers from the announced crowd of 25,081.

''I think our fans deserved to see it first,'' Manager Art Howe said. ''If I was going to do it, I was going to do it here. The truth about it is it was time to do it.''

Piazza, whose only previous major league game at first base came during his rookie season in 1993 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, maintained his game face, a constant scowl, as he stepped onto the field with first baseman Tony Clark's glove. Piazza resembled a hockey goalie when the first batter, the left-handed Carlos Rivera, drilled a line drive at him. His face looking as if he were riding a roller coaster, Piazza caught the ball at his forehead as he fell to his knees. Fans who cheered approvingly upon seeing Piazza without his catcher's gear to start the inning, began chanting his name.

''I was still breathing a little heavy,'' Piazza said when asked if he had heard the reaction.

Rob Mackowiak followed with a grounder to pitcher Pedro Feliciano, who gloved it, fell and tossed it to Piazza, whose foot was firmly on top of the bag instead of beside it. Piazza took Ty Wigginton's throw from third to end the inning.

Piazza's voice gave a hint of levity in what was an otherwise serious postgame discussion. He needs four home runs to tie Carlton Fisk's record of 351 as a catcher and he admitted communication with management had improved since Howe revealed in a television interview in May that he planned to speak with Piazza about moving to first base. Piazza tore a groin muscle the next week, sidelining him for three months, and played first base in a minor league game.

Howe said there was no deeper meaning to making the move last night and no desire to give fans a preview of next season, when Piazza is expected split time between catcher and first base. Mets officials and Piazza had left the move up to Howe, and he was running out of time to enact the plan.

The season is scheduled to end on Sunday in Florida, unless a makeup game is required on Monday against the Giants.

''I never really thought about it as any sort of event,'' Piazza said of his Mets debut at first.

Howe approached Piazza, this time in person, telling him during a pitching change Wednesday night that he planned on playing him at first late in last night's game.

Piazza looked at strike three in the bottom of the ninth and some players returned to the field and tossed their caps to the fans after the game. By then, Tom Glavine, the Mets' starter, had retreated inside the locker room, treating the bruises he sustained on each of his knees. Jack Wilson hit a one-hopper off Glavine's right knee in the first and Jason Kendall grazed his left knee with a line drive in the third.

Glavine (9-14), who was not involved in the decision, left after allowing a run in five innings, ended his season with his first losing record since 1990.

Glavine also played with his younger brother, Mike, for five innings. Mike Glavine was more than willing to play a position that Piazza had long resisted, getting his first major league start at first base on a night that Piazza made his debut there and Murphy ended his 42-year career as a Mets broadcaster.

Photo: The Mets honored Bob Murphy, one of their original announcers, who was working his final game last night. (Photo by Barton Silverman/The New York Times)